The Melbourne Storm ran a ‘Finals Football’ clinic on Sunday, schooling the Bulldogs about how to perform in crunch games as they systematically went about claiming their second officially-recognised NRL crown.
Settling quickly in to their work Melbourne turned early pressure in to points when Ryan Hoffman barged on to a short-ball in a perfectly executed set-move to score in the 7th minute, and while Sam Perrett miraculously scooped up a expertly weighted kick to get the Dogs on the board it was Melbourne who piled on the points before the half-time break,
Cameron Smith had another poor day with the boot, and Bulldogs coach Des Hasler would have been relieved that his side didn’t trail by more at the break, given the wealth of territory and possession the Storm had enjoyed.
But the Bankstown boys had no solution to the question of how to crack the highly-organised Melbourne defence, and the Storm never really looked troubled as they eased their way to victory, an undeniable sense of inevitably descending over the game in the final quarter as viewers realised how comprehensively out-classed the Bulldogs were.
For Melbourne and coach Bellamy it was the realisation of years of hard work, while for Hasler and his young Doggies it would have been a huge learning curve, and one which they will undoubtedly be better for when next season rolls around.